Dawn of the Jedi
by ShadowOfHades
Summary: An epic tale of the forming of the Republic and the Jedi as a band of unexpected heroes fight to save the galaxy. Follow Daxon, Cani, Aaron, and Natrix through a governmentless galaxy filled with enemies and misfortune!
1. Prologue

Sphax.

Some say the lack of star and eternal night on Sphax made it uninhabitable. To most it was. But when your hiding places have been diminished and you've nowhere to go, Sphax would be the perfect option, wouldn't it? For Mare Skywalker, it was.

Mare was out of hiding places and needed a place to continue his research. Research that could save the universe. He decided on a world that no one would think anyone would be able to survive on. With subzero temperatures and beasts lurking in the darkness, Sphax fit the description. Mare took his research and a small group of people to Sphax and began a colony of sorts.

Mare spent the next 22 years on Sphax. He watched the colony evolve into a full blown base and enough men to make up an army.

Most nights on Sphax (note that I will use the term "night" even though it is always night on Sphax) the vicious winds blew through the rocky surface of the dead world, making a loud whistling noise as it hit the rocks and mountains, but not tonight. Tonight a louder sound filled the night. A deadlier sound. It was the sound of men, screaming in pain as they died that drowned out the whistling wind. It was the sound of women and children screaming and crying as they tried to escape the chaos and death. It was the sound of blaster shots and explosions as the Cascade army assaulted the base.

The Cascaders attacked in the midst of night (the people on Sphax usually took a certain time to sleep and that is their "night") when no one was expecting it. By the time they showed up on the radars it was too late. The Cascaders assaulted the base from the air and ground. The small night patrols of Rebel soldiers stood no chance against the large army.

Mare was alerted as soon as the shots rang out. Most would expect a military official such as Mare Skywalker to rally his men to fight back against the oncoming enemy. But Mare had something more important on his mind. Something that outweighed the lives of all in that base.

He had Lt. Gregg rally his men. After the order was issued Mare grabbed a blaster rifle and took off through the base. Blaster shots whizzed past him, explosions blinded his vision, ships narrowly crashed into him as he navigated through the base. After a lot of running he had reached his destination.

He stopped at the smallest, most pathetic facility in the entire compound. He took a second to examine it before making his way to the door. He held out a small card in front of the scanner on the door and after a second of scanning it accepted the card.

The door slid open to reveal a small room, filled with computers and machinery. The high-end technology lined the walls and made rows through the center of the small room. Mare, however, was not interested with the shiny, and expensive models of machinery. No, he bolted to the very back of the room and scanned the back wall until settling on a small insignificant piece of machinery.

This machine was a TPX-008. It was the oldest known model of Storage Capacitor. Rust lined every square inch of the small machine and it appeared as though it wouldn't even function. This is exactly what Mare wanted it to appear as, however, it was the most important piece of technology in the room. In the entire Base even.

Mare pressed a small button on the top of the Capacitor and it lit up. Lights flashed, motors whirred, and after a minute the little machine was powered on. Mare began typing on the console, searching through archives of memory in the TPX. He found what he was looking for. Decades of research all stored in the small TPX. Research, that to Mare, was more important than his own life.

He reached for an amulet around his neck, an amulet he never took off. He sighed, "I never thought, not in a million years I would ever have to do this." He pried open the amulet and pulled from it a small MacroStore chip, no bigger than his thumbnail. He plugged the small chip into the TPX and started downloading the files onto the chip.

"This'll take at least 20 minutes." Mare muttered to himself as he read the display across the screen, "machines." Suddenly he heard yelling from the other side of the door. He reached down for his blaster and heard more voices and banging. He ran to take up position behind a row of electronics.

Sweat beat down his brow as he waited for what came next. Whatever came next, he told himself, he would have to be ready for. All fell silent from beyond the door and Mare relaxed for a moment. For a moment that nearly killed him.

BOOM! The entire room shook violently with the explosion that destroyed the door. Mare dropped to the ground immediately. Debris and smoke flew around the room and blaster fire shot down the small room.

Mare poked his head out and began firing at the two Cascade troops that entered the room. They both fell to the ground with blaster holes through their chests, and three more troops replaced them. Mare was a hardened and skilled warrior and he knew what he was doing. He took up a new position on the wall next to him where the smoke was thickest. He fired more shots and one of the troops screamed as a blaster bolt found its way into his head.

The two unfortunate troops that were left had no idea where Mare was firing from because of the smoke of the blasters filling the room. Every time a blaster is fired it releases a small amount of smoke. When the smoke was getting thicker it let you know how close you were to overheating the weapon. This is what Mare wanted. The more smoke there was the more hiding places Mare had, and believe me, Mare was good at hiding.

He took out the last two troops and took a look back at the TPX. Only 10 minutes, he told himself, I can handle 10 more minutes. He waited in the thick smoke for more troops to enter the room, however, he found himself waiting for nothing. The stall in the action lasted for a couple minutes. By the time more troops entered the room there was little to no smoke left and Mare was out of hiding places.

The troops spotted him immediately and he ducked behind a row of electronics. He counted at least ten enemy troops with blasters pointed at his position but none were fired. He crouched behind the machines, hands gripping tight to his own blaster, waiting for either side to make a move. The other side moved first.

Mare heard it before he saw it. A small metal disc rolled across the floor and stopped right next to him. The small disc expanded and Mare immediately dove from his position. The small disc exploded with an earsplitting sound. Mare clutched his ear with one hand and fired at the enemy troops with the other. At least three went down as he took cover behind another machine. He felt warm blood come trickling down from his half-deaf ear.

Mare knew he had little options left in order to defend the small TPX and the MacroStore chip now downloading files that could save the universe. He reached for his belt and pulled off a small sphere no bigger than his palm. He waited for a stall in the firing and rolled the small sphere down the room. It stopped right in front of the troops and it, too, expanded but instead of exploding and deafening its enemy it did something even more deadly, it shot out lasers.

The small orb shot out at least 50 different steady laser beams down their side of the room. The beams criss-crossed and intertwined with one another to make it impossible for those caught in it to move without being fried by them. However a few unfortunate troops were hit directly when the beams were put out, killing them instantly. The other troops were caught between beams so close, they couldn't even move their fingers to pull the trigger on their blasters.

Mare came out from his hiding place with a triumphant stride. He checked the screen on the TPX and he only had to wait three more minutes before downloading was complete and he could get out of there. Then it hit him, how _would _he get out of there?

Before he could contemplate an efficient escape plan he froze immediately. The room seemed to grow colder, the troops tensed up as well, and the air about the room smelled of death. It was him. Mare felt him before he saw him. I don't know if we could even refer to him as a "him" he was more a being. A being of pure _death_.

This "being" strode into the room, into a corner where the array of lasers did not touch. He donned black, tattered robes, dark as night. He wore a mask that only some can describe as being the face of the devil. His hood hid any sign of being human or otherwise any type of known species. His hands, oh his hands looked as if they were talons, mechanical talons, also, black as night. His feet were hidden by wicked boots with stains of blood on them. He was at least a foot taller than any other person in the room.

"Darth Vearance." Mare said, hiding his trembling voice quite well, "Dark Lord and leader of the Cascaders."

"Mare, oh Mare." Vearance purred, "how i have _longed _to meet the leader of the Rebellion!" It was unable to tell if he was truly happy or merely sarcastic for his mask hid any sign of emotion.

Mare gripped his blaster tighter. "You're too late Vearance! The download is almost complete!"

"Ah, yes, but, Skywalker, how are you _ever _going to get out with your life?" Vearance said reaching for something beneath his robes. He pulled out a small handle, a little longer then a mans fist. Mare was not deceived by how pathetic the handle looked, for he knew what that handle held within it.

Vearance noticed Mare's fear. "So you know of this weapon?" Vearance asked eyeing it up and down as though he'd never seen it before. "I'm sure many of your soldiers do."

Mare pointed his blaster at the Dark Lord. "Enough games!"

"At least let this fight be fair." Vearance said smoothly. He pressed a small button on the handle he was holding in his hand and a steady beam of light exploded from the handle. The beam was maybe three feet long, crimson red, and had enough power to rip through DuraSteel. Mare was sweating furiously now for he knew what came next.

"Ah the men who have fallen to my blade." Vearance said admiring the sword of light in his hand. "You know, I've even killed a Skywalker before. What did he call himself? Oh, yes, his name was Karter. He had no business wielding a blade such as this." He held out the blade and deflected one of the beams back at the small orb, destroying it. The lasers that just previously filled the room were now gone, freeing the soldiers. They rushed forward, toward Mare, but none of them made it.

Darth Vearance, faster than light, was on top of the soldiers in a heart beat. The first troop found the crimson blade through his chest, the second one was decapitated as Vearance made a steady arc through the first into the second, and the third found himself standing only feet away from the Dark Lord. Vearance held out his hand and lightning shot from his fingertips into the final soldier, electrocuting him to death. Vearance turned on Mare.

"Fools." He said finally, "I thought I made it clear that _I_ would be the one to kill you."

Mare was out of options. He looked over at the TPX. It was done. He rushed to it and grabbed the MacroStore chip and thrust into his pocket. He turned to see the tall Darth Vearance looming over him. He calmly stared into the Dark Lord's eyes and shot at his stomach.

Vearance deflected the blaster shots and looked to see Mare running for the door. He held out his hand and Mare found his body being stopped by a great force, immobilizing him.

"Ah, the power of the force." Vearance said pulling Mare toward him, "The Sith are very skillful with it. I guess that's why we never lose." By now Mare was right in front of the tall Sith Lord, struggling against the force hold Vearance had on him.

"You...may...kill...me." Mare struggled to get out, "but...rebellion...never...die."

"But how will they survive without you?" Vearance purred holding his blade up to Mare's head, "Or without a home!" Vearance thrust his blade of light into Mare's head.

Mare felt like he was falling, falling through darkness. Visions passed through his mind, visions of his base being destroyed, his men all dying, and his wife, taking his son and fleeing Sphax. He wanted to see his newborn son.

"Daxon." He said smiling, "He should be named Daxon." With that, Mare's mind shut off on him.

The Dark Lord released his grip on the now dead Mare Skywalker. "Pathetic." He said, "but after tonight the Rebels will be no more." He was interrupted when another being came into the room, aslo donning black robes. He was much shorter than Vearance, and his hood darkened most of his face, but it was apparent that he, too, was a Sith Lord.

"Darth Sear!" Vearance said as the younger Sith dropped to one knee before Vearance, "my apprentice! How is the invasion going?"

"Good, master." Sear said now rising to meet his master, "the last of the Rebels have held themselves up in the barracks area."

"Ensure that they are wiped out, Sear." Vearance said know crouching and searching through the pockets of Mare Skywalker's body.

"M-master." Sear asked astonished, "is that, _Mare Skywalker_?"

"No my apprentice." Vearance said, rising with the small MacroStore chip in his hand, "it _was _Mare Skywalker, now it is nothing more than a dead Rebel." Vearance slid the MacroStore chip into his robes. "See to it that no Rebels survive."

"Yes master." Sear said now turning and exiting the room.

Vearance walked to the door and turned looking at Mare Skywalker's dead body. He pulled the MacroStrore chip from within his robes and studied it. "I have much work to do." He said as he turned to leave the room.


	2. Book 1 Title Quote

**I will be splitting this story up into 3 books. At the beginning of each book I will make a chapter just for the book title and a quote from the upcoming book. Enjoy!**

* * *

~Book 1~

~Exploration~

_**"Skywalkers are not meant to be held down. To be restrained. They are meant to be free, to be leaders. That's what your father always wanted. To be free. For **_**everyone ****_to be free." _****-Claire Skywalker**


	3. Chapter 1: The Old Man

**This is my first Star Wars story and I would love to see your guys's feedback on what I'm doing right or wrong! In case there's any confusion it's my take on the forming of the Galactic Republic and the rebuild of the Jedi. I know how confusing that sounds but later in the story much more will be revealed! Thank you for reading and please leave some reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Old Man

Some say there is no greater pain than losing a loved one.

Some say there is no greater pain than losing a bar fight.

Just recently, Daxon Skywalker lost both.

Another blow to the face was almost enough to make Daxon Skywalker beg for mercy. Almost. You see Daxon, much like any Skywalker, was stubborn. Stubborn enough to never accept defeat. So what would a normal man do when he was presented with a slim to none chance of winning this bar fight? They would drop to their knees and beg for mercy, like what the thugs had told Daxon to do. But Daxon was no mere man. He was a Skywalker.

So yes he lost the bar fight and was thrown from the crowded bar. He literally was thrown. He was immediately struck with the heat of the paved street for it reflected the heat of Tatooine's twin suns fairly well. The thugs from inside the dark and shady bar just stood in the doorway and laughed as poor Daxon jumped from the heat of the stone. After feeling that they got their fill of amusement, the thugs retreaded into the bar.

Daxon was a wreck. Oh, he had been a wreck before but now he was officially a _wreck_. He was unsure when he would hit rock bottom before but now he was sure. Daxon Skywalker had hit rock bottom. He dragged himself out of the street and under the canopy of one of the many shops that lined Mos Catspa's busy streets. He just wanted to get out of the heat. The heat, that day, seemed magnified by one-thousand.

After successfully taking shelter under the shady canopy Daxon looked out, on to the street, in an attempt to get his bearings. What he saw nearly stopped his heart. Empty. The street was empty. Of all the years Daxon had lived in Mos Catspa he had never seen the streets empty. He remembered being a young boy and counting all the different species of aliens that passed through the crowded trading city until he lost count. But not that day.

He looked up and down the street in an effort to find a reason behind its sudden vacancy. No sand storm. No invading gang. No bantha stampede. Nothing. Daxon leaned back, utterly perplexed. He couldn't get his mind around why the street was so desolate. That's when he saw the old man.

This old man looked like any other old man. Bald, with an exception of a long white beard that draped from his lower jaw. He wore, old, tattered gray robes, looking as though they had seen plenty of action. He had a thick wooden walking stick that supported his weight as he hobbled his way down the street.

"Foolish old man." Daxon muttered to himself, "doesn't he know how dangerous it is to travel through Mos Catspa alone?" That's when it hit him. A devilish grin sprouted on Daxon's face, for Daxon did not see an old man, no, Daxon saw a chance. A chance to pull himself out of rock bottom.

Daxon pulled out his small blaster pistol from his belt and clutched it close to his body as he squeezed himself farther into the shadows. He waited for the old man to hobble past and then he stood up and revealed himself to the suns. He followed silently behind the old man, getting closer, and closer, and closer, until he was right behind him. Daxon dug his pistol into the old man's back and said these words, "I don't want any trouble, I just want your money."

* * *

This is Daxon Skywalker:

A 16-year-old boy who never lost his childish sense of adventure. He was raised on Tatooine but as far as he knew he wasn't born there.

"You were born on the same planet your father died on." His mother would always tell him, never specifying the planet. But Daxon was smart enough to know when to push and when to leave it alone. He knew how sensitive his mother got when talking about his father.

He grew up on the outskirts of Mos Catspa, in a small three room mud brick house. Beneath the mud and sand however was a thin DuraSteel layer to support the "house" further. He spent most of his days helping his mother with the small store she owned deeper in the city. She sold goods from off planet that she finds lying around in the dune sea. Most of the goods came from shipwrecks that landed there or from dead travelers that never made it across.

"Did you see any Sand People?" Daxon asked her one time when she returned from her trip to the sea.

"Sand People?" His mother would ask, "That's just an old farmer's myth."

When he wasn't helping out at Claire's Off-World Good's he was down at Mos Catspa's ship port to see his friend, Kilo. Kilo was about 25 and was a freighter pilot that transported goods off-world. Daxon wasn't interested in hearing Kilo's old shipping tales (however sometimes he was forced to listen to some) he was more interested in what Kilo could teach him. Kilo could teach him how to pilot ships.

Kilo did teach him the simple stuff, takeoff, banking and swerving, how to activate the shields and counter-guns, etc. Over the years Daxon picked up tools and tricks to piloting. After his first lesson he knew, he knew that he wanted to be a pilot. He wanted to fly around the galaxy, saving lives, seeing exotic worlds, transporting unknown goods. That was the life Daxon wanted to live, and he was determined to live it someday.

However his dream seemed crushed when one day, Daxon was waiting at the ship port for Kilo's return from a run to Adriana, and Kilo didn't return. He didn't return the next day, or the day after that, or ever, for that matter. The last piece of knowledge that Daxon needed to get off that rock known as Tatooine was gone. He needed to know how to navigate in deep space.

Daxon never truly accepted Kilo's death. He just convinced himself that Kilo met a nice girl on Adriana and they settled down, him completely forgetting about Daxon and Tatooine. He wouldn't blame him, Daxon would've done the same thing, given the chance.

One year after Kilo's death, Daxon's mother followed. Claire Skywalker was just cleaning the dishes in their old sink when she just, collapsed. Daxon immediately took her in the speeder straight to the small medical center in the city. The medical droids could not save her.

"She seemed to have truly died long ago." One told him, it's metallic voice bearing no sympathy.

There are no funerals on Tatooine, merely burring the body and being done with it, which is exactly what Daxon did. He attempted to keep the business going in order to be able to pay tax for their house but he was no good. The only _real _reason anyone went to that shop was to see Claire, but with her, it too died. Being unable to keep up with payments on the house Daxon took as much food and money with him as possible and left the house behind.

He later found a long abandoned house that he took shelter in for a few months. He was forced to sell his speeder in order to buy food. He stayed in that small abandoned house for a long time, until one of the many gangs that thrived on Tatooine drove him out. Daxon had no home, or food, or money.

That's about the time when Daxon began robbing and stealing. He never viewed it as being a bad thing for it provided him with the thrill he had not felt since he drove ships with Kilo. A thrill that is rare on Tatooine. Daxon was planning on using the money he accumulated to buy a ship and take his chances off-world. He continued to pickpocket and steal to get that money. He was fairly good at it until that day at the bar. Daxon saw probably the richest woman on Tatooine sitting in that bar and around her sat thugs that she was talking, or doing some kind of business with.

Daxon walked past her, snatching a piece of gold off of her head dress. He though nobody saw. He was wrong. The thugs beat him, stole the gold piece and whatever other money he had on him, and threw him out.

And that's how he ended up there, a 16-year-old boy who never lost his childish sense of adventure.

* * *

Sweat was beating down his brow furiously as he silently waited for the old man to respond.

"C'mon old man all i wa-" in an instant he found his feet knocked out from under him. As he fell to the ground he felt his blaster ripped out of his hands and pointed at his own forehead. He looked up to see the old man looming over him, hold his blaster ready to fire.

"Do I look like I possess any money to you?" The old man asked receiving no answer, "Why, exactly, are you robbing an old man like me?"

"I-I don't know..." Daxon stammered completely puzzled by how a man so old and innocent could have just done that.

"You don't know?" The old man asked, "There is a reason behind everything, boy, you can't just simply not know what you're doing!" He tossed Daxon his blaster and turned around to continue walking, "I know it's none of my business but you shouldn't be robbing old men in the street."

The old man began hobbling back down the street, away from Daxon. Daxon sat there for a moment, frozen, then he got up and jogged ahead to meet the old man in stride.

The old man noticed Daxon come up to him and just grunted, "first you rob me now you chase me, I already told you I have no money!"

"I don't care about your money anymore!" Daxon said, "how on Tatooine did you do _that_?"

"It is not to hard to best an idiot!" The old man replied, still continuing down the street, "don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Hah!" Daxon laughed, "why do you think I robbed you in the first place? I have no money and no home."

The old man just gave him a sideways glance, "and you were desperate enough to rob a defenseless old man?"

"Well yes." Daxon responded having trouble keeping up with the surprisingly swift old man, "or you could just donate some money to a motherless and hungry child?"

The old man grunted, and fell silent for a while. The silence concerned Daxon. _I did it now! _he told himself thinking that he had pushed to far.

"If I feed you and shelter you for a night will you leave me alone."

Daxon's eyes lit up, "yes! I won't bother you again! I'll do whatever you need and-"

"Don't push your luck, boy." The old man said and they continued on their way in silence.

* * *

After what seemed like ages they arrived at the old man's home. It was a tall two story building, the first story was a small shop that sold nick-nacks of all types, and the second story was the living space. Daxon eagerly followed the old man to the back of the shop and up a flight of stairs into a large room. The room contained two beds, a kitchen area, and the far wall was completely covered in something Daxon had never seen before.

"Two beds?" Daxon asked before realizing how rude it was. He saw the old man wince as though he brought up some old pain, "oh, I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine lad." The old man said walking up to one of the shelves. He pulled off a picture of a young man and a women, just married. "She was a good women, and a better wife. She knew it was her time when it came." The old man stood there for a few moments, looking longingly into the picture, "well at least now you have a bed!"He chuckled and put the picture down.

Daxon went over to the strange wall, "what are these?" He asked holding up one of those "things"

The old man chuckled and said, "those are _books_ my boy!"

"Books?"

"They are like EStreams except on paper." The old man asked pulling one of the ancient books off of the shelve and opening it up, "see?"

Daxon was perplexed by the book. He could read the words but they weren't digital or projected. They were flat. "Why do you own so many?"

"They are one of the last things that connects this world to the old one, "the old man said putting the book back on the shelve, "they hold knowledge from that world that we've lost along the way."

The old man went into the kitchen area to begin making dinner and Daxon pulled a couple books off the shelve and began reading them on the bed.

"This is so interesting," Daxon said reading a book on Nubian Marine Life, "Where is 'Naboo'?"

"It's a beautiful world." The old man responded, chopping and cracking various foods, "Lush forests and beautiful oceans."

"For-est?" Daxon said perplexed, "O-cean?"

The old man chuckled, "you really need to get off Tatooine."

Daxon closed his book and looked up at the ceiling, as though he could see right through it and into the stars, "that's what I plan to do when I get the money."

"You seem very adventurous. What's your name?"

"Daxon, Daxon Skywalker." He looked over and pretended not to see the old man'd eyes widen for half a second. Half a second too much.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I had some technical difficulties while typing this chapter so I hope you enjoyed! Please don't forget to leave feedback and tell me what i'm doing right or wrong!**


	4. Chapter 2: An Old Man's Vow

Daxon's dream went like this.

He saw a boy, 9 or 10 at the most. He was not very tall, thick for his age with long sandy hair. What intrigued Daxon most was how intelligent the boy was for his age. He noticed this by the fact that the boy was driving! Driving a pod like machine, two cables extending from the pod and attaching themselves to two separate engines. The engines were connected by a steady beam of what looked like electricity, binding them together.

This boy was sitting in the cockpit of the "pod" switching levers, pushing buttons, and pulling on the handle bars to move the machine left to right as he raced across a barren, Tatooine-like landscape. Multiple other "pods" raced alongside him. He watched as many of the other pods containing creatures much older and wiser than the boy crashing and exploding.

His dream skipped ahead, to the boy's pod exploding alongside another pod. The boys pod skidded past the finish line. Cheers erupted through the crowd and the boy stood up, being crowned the youngest winner of The Boonta's Eve Race.

* * *

Daxon awoke, sweat soaking through his dirty skin tight shirt. His head was swimming with images of the boy, and the pod, and what they all meant. He looked around to see that the old man was already awake, busy in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell from the food was making Daxon's head dizzy. Despite the intense desire to get up and eat he needed to collect his thoughts.

He remembered what his mother told him about dreams.

"We have dreams for a reason Dax." His mother would say, "they show us the future or the past, in an attempt to warn us of what was or what is to come. Dreams help us understand thinks we cannot conceptually grasp without them. Dreams are riddles, it is our duty to decipher them."

Trying to decipher his dream gave him a headache. He decided it must be in the future, on Tatooine or a Tatooine-like planet, but why he was shown this boy was a mystery to him. A mystery he hoped he could one day solve.

Eventually his hunger got the better of him and Daxon was forced to get up and move to the kitchen. The old man was sitting in one of two chairs, enjoying his breakfast and a book. He looked up and noticed Daxon's entry but said nothing and returned to his book. Daxon sat down and immediately began scarfing down his food.

"Skywalker huh?" The old man said not taking his eyes off his book. Daxon looked up from his food with a puzzled look, "you did say that was your name right?" Daxon nodded and continued digging into his food. "And your parents names?"

Daxon swallowed his current mouth-full of food and answered quietly, "Claire was my mother..."

"And your father?" The old man asked looking up from his book finally.

Daxon thought for a minute and answered, "I was never told his name."

The old man nodded and continued reading his book. After a while he came out and said, "where is your mother now?"

"Dead." Daxon said without hesitation, "she died about a year ago."

The old man let out a sigh, "then I've partially failed already." Before confusion could set in on Daxon the old man followed up with, "I was supposed to find her. And you."

Daxon was in disbelief, "y-you..."

"I was a friend of your father's." The old man said, "closer than friends we were brothers! We drifted apart when he went to Sphax on some 'research mission'. when I found out he died I took it upon myself to find you and your mother. After a decade of searching I gave up, took my wife and settled down here, on Tatooine." He took another drink and looked at Daxon as though nothing had changed.

Daxon did the normal thing anyone would do when flushed with disbelief, he fainted. His head landed right in his food. The old man sighed, got up, and carried Daxon to his bed, showing surprising strength. He watched over Daxon, waiting for him to wake.

When Daxon did wake he rubbed his eyes and looked at the old man. He imagined the old man in his younger days, flying around the galaxy with his father.

"What was his name?" Daxon said hoarsely.

"Mare."

"Mare Skywalker." Daxon told himself quietly, attempting to imagine his father and what he might look like, "how did he die?"

The old man shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. He looked at Daxon and finally said, "he was murdered."

With the amount of disbelief already filling Daxon's day he had to stop and take it all in. "Who?"

The old man sighed and looked up and out the window in the kitchen, "he was murdered by a Sith Lord." He saw Daxon's puzzled expression and continued, "the Sith are a powerful organization that feeds off anything wrong and evil. Like murder. At the time of his death there were only two Sith, now there are many, all throughout the galaxy."

Daxon leaned back. He had to think for a while. He thought about how the Sith Lord not only killed his father, but in a way, his mother too. He remembered growing up, always looking at her sad eyes, wishing they were with his father. She died because she couldn't be strong and live without Mare any longer. Not only had the Sith Lord also destroyed his mothers life, but now his own life was destroyed. No mother. No father. No home, money, or food. This man had destroyed Daxon's life, without even knowing it, and that made Daxon sick.

A bubbling feeling was forming in the pit of Daxon's stomach. Anger began coursing through his blood, intensifying his gaze into the ceiling. He remembered how much he loved his mother, and how one day his entire life was ripped away from him. He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill the Sith Lord.

He sat up, his jaw set of a man much older and bitter than him. "I want to kill him."

"Skywalker!" The old man shouted in a surprised tone, "a young boy like yourself cant kill a _Sith Lord _with decades of training behind them!"

He looked at the old man with a steely gaze, "he destroyed my life. He killed my father, my mother, and nearly killed me too!" He slammed his hand on the small nightstand next to the bed, "I don't only want to find him, I want to _kill _him! I want to make him suffer for my mother!"

"This is absurd!" The old man said.

Daxon was now at a shout, "I'm going to kill him and all his brethren! I'm going to purge this galaxy of the Sith! I will get revenge and you better pray you don't get in my way!" With that Daxon Skywalker fainted once more. The old man said nothing else except stared at him with sad eyes. He got up and disappeared somewhere in the house.

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The old man awoke early the next morning. When he went to check on Daxon he was shocked to find the bed empty. Daxon's shoes and over garments where gone as well. The old man threw on his shoes and his dirty old robe and ran down the stairs to his shop.

He made his way through the seemingly endless shelves of nick-nacks to the back wall of the shop. He took his walking stick and pressed it into a small hole in the wall. The hole lit up and the wall slowly slid aside to reveal a bulky 77-T8 model land speeder. He hopped in the seat and raced down the streets of Mos Catspa, hot in pursuit of the young Skywalker.

The old man caught up with Daxon after a couple minutes of driving. He came up behind Daxon and circled around him, forcing Daxon to stop. The wind from the land speeder's engine threw back Daxon's brown hood on his over garments and whipped his dirty and wild brown hair around. The old man stopped and looked at Daxon from the drivers seat.

"What do you think your doing!" The old man shouted over the engine.

"I'm looking for answers." Daxon replied with a steely gaze, "I want to find out who these Sith exactly are, and what they wanted with my father."

The old man looked concerned, "not to kill them?"

Daxon looked away and the old man sighed. "I do not agree with this, but I've made a vow to protect you and your mother if anything were to happen to your father. I've already lost Claire, I'm not loosing you." With that the old man kicked the passenger door open.

Daxon turned around and a wide grin spread across his face. He stepped into the speeder and closed the passenger door, "so what's your plan?"

"Well we ain't going to find any Sith on Tatooine." The old man said, racing through the busy streets, "we're going to have to get off-world."

Daxon's eyes lit up, "we're buying a ship!"

"No." The old man said, "we're hiring one. Neither of us can pilot in deep space." With that he stopped the speeder right in front of a small tavern on the side of the street. "Some of the best pilots hang out here."

Daxon looked at the tavern then back at the old man, "so we're hiring a pilot from in here?"

"No." The old man said again, "_you're _hiring a pilot from in there. I have some other business to attend to." Daxon's broad shoulders sagged as he grimaced at the old man. "Don't worry Skywalker! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Daxon opened the passenger door and got out. He flipped up his hood and looked back at the old man, shrugged and turned back towards the tavern. He heard the speeder jet off through the street behind him and he stood at the dark doorway into the tavern. He looked up at the sign '**Dieo Meia Tu Fur'**. It was in Dreaddenese, something Daxon wasn't fluent in.**  
**

"Oh brother." He said as he mustered up all his courage and walked into the bar.

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**Sorry that this took so long, I've been very busy this week. ****I plan to get a chapter up every week to week and a half. ****Don't forget to leave a review to help me gauge how I'm doing! **


	5. Chapter 3: The Pilot's Sister

**I haven't realized how busy I've been lately and how little time I've had to type. This is an interesting chapter so I hope you enjoy.**

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Chapter 3: The Pilot's sister.

The first thing that Daxon noticed about the tavern was the intense smell. The stench of alcohol and drunks that haven't bathed in weeks filled the air and made Daxon recoil and second guess himself. He thought of the old man and the opportunities that awaited him off-world. The thoughts gave him a second wind and he walked bravely through the doorway.

He first began surveying the dark bar for likely pilots. Daxon had no idea how to distinguish a normal drunk from a pilot drunk so he basically looked for a man with the most confident look. He wanted to find a man who looked as though he belonged there and was comfortable, sober or drunk.

After looking around at most members of the run-down tavern he felt like giving up. He readjusted his blaster on his belt and took a seat at the worn out bar. He ordered something to drink. There were really no drinking laws in Tatooine, there are really no laws at all.

"Laws are a good thing, Daxon." His mother would always tell him. "They keep order in a somewhat un-orderly galaxy." He felt sad thinking about his mother. He remembered her beautiful face, and those sad eyes. He was so captivated by thinking of his mother he did not notice the woman slip into the seat next to him.

"What is a boy like you doing in a place like this?" Upon hearing this Daxon spun to see the woman next to him. She wore a dark hood that shadowed her face. He attempted to respond but the words caught in her throat as an incredible feeling came over him. Something incredible exploded into his heart and spread all around his body and he caught himself staring at the woman. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"No, no, I was just, um, thrown off guard." Suddenly the words that she spoke hit him and, instead of answering the question he was thoroughly offended. "What do you mean 'a boy like me'?"

She paused for a moment before answering. "You don't look like you belong here. Your face is free of scars or bruises, and you still appear to have your childish purity."

He looked down at his drink, realizing this was an argument he could not win, however his pride over took him and he continued. "I'm not a boy, I'm a man." She laughed. He felt embarrassed and answered the original question, sheepishly. "I'm looking for a pilot, and a ship. I need to get off-world."

Despite the shadow her hood created he couldn't help but see her smile. "If it's a ship your looking for, I know the best one. If it's a pilot your looking for, I know the best one, too. Follow me." Without warning she stood and turned into the crowd. A startled Daxon jumped up to pursue her.

"Slow down!" Daxon yelled through the crowd. She did no such thing. Daxon managed to keep up with her best he could, this feeling he had was revealing to him recesses of courage he never knew he had.

After what seemed like ages of following the strange girl she finally stopped. Daxon stopped and caught his breath. When he looked up he saw a square made up of about 12 chairs. Sitting in those chairs were about the dirtiest thugs Daxon had ever seen, one however, stuck out to him.

The one that stuck out to him was a huge, very muscular, darker man. He wore a sleeveless Tatooinian gang shirt. Wicked tattoos ran up his arms and the sides of his face making him look even meaner in the dark tavern. The seat to his right was vacant, while the one on the left sat a shorter and skinnier man.

This man also stuck out for some odd reason. Even though he looked dwarfed compared to the dark-skinned man, he was still thicker than Daxon. This man was much paler than regular Tatooinians, Daxon assumed he was from off-world. He had a scruffy beard forming on his jaw line up to his sideburns. He did not wear the gang clothes but wore a loose fitting over coat. He looked tired and bags formed under his eyes.

Daxon finally got a chance to stop. Everything had happened so quickly he just wanted to sit down and think, but the woman had other objectives.

"Cani!" The large, dark man, yelled. The woman nodded silently in Daxon's direction and moved out of the crowd and into the seat next to the dark man.

"Ah, there you are Cani! Where is my drink." The woman threw her hood back and took a seat next to the man.

Cani quickly thought up an excuse. "I don't recall you asking for a drink?"

The man grunted. "Well I did!" He looked at Cani and she gave him a helpless smile. The man melted. "Ah, Cani, your fine. Just remember next time." She nodded.

Next Cani got up and walked towards the man on the other side of the large man. She whispered something in his ear. He nodded. "Please excuse me Kaaja." She said as she and the other man walked toward Daxon. Daxon, seeing Cani approaching he straightened up and tried to brush some dust and grime from his tunic. She looked at him and motioned toward an empty booth next to the trio.

Daxon sat, alone, on one side of the booth while Cani and her companion sat on the other. Now that Cani and her companion where close he could study them clearer. Cani was beautiful. She had long curly brown hair and big hazel eyes. Despite the sand and dirt on her face she stunned him into a phase where he had trouble speaking.

"You said you wanted a pilot?" She asked him after a few moments of silence.

He snapped back to life and quickly replied with a yes.

"This is my brother, Natrix Solo." The man beside her nodded. He looked nearly the same at a distance. He must have been a couple years older than Daxon with a face full of poorly kept whiskers. He looked as though he could care less about where he was. "I'm Cani, and who are you?"

Daxon paused to study the pair for a bit longer before responding, "I'm Daxon Skywalker."

"Daxon." She rolled the words around on her tongue before continuing. "You needed a ship." She motioned towards her brother. "Nate's the best pilot on this side of the galaxy."

Daxon nodded and they studied one another trying to think the other's thoughts. "I need transport off-world."

"Where exactly." She asked.

"That's the thing." He said staring up at the dim ceiling. "My associate knows where to go, but he's not here, I'm waiting for his return."

"How much?" Cani's brother finally spoke. Daxon didn't understand the question so he found no answer to give back. "How much you payin' us?"

Daxon hadn't thought of that. He had nothing. And he was pretty sure the old man had nothing as well. Daxon had to think, and think quick. Something spoke to him, in the back of his mind, took over, and the words flew out.

"12,000."

Natrix nearly choked on the air he was breathing. _12,000_! That's enough to buy a ship! He didn't hesitate when he blurted out "_Deal!_". Cani wasn't so sure.

"Are you sure you have that kind of money?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course I do!" Daxon lied.

"Of course he does!" Natrix followed up with. Cani raised an eyebrow but Natrix kept her shut, not wanting to lose this. Daxon knew he had him.

"But..." Daxon said suppressing the sweat forming on his brow. "You need to take me anywhere I need to go." Daxon knew he was pushing but he saw how desperate Natrix was for this deal. He didn't know why, and frankly he didn't care. He just wanted to use this to his advantage.

"_Anywhere_?" Now it was Natrix's turn to me skeptical.

"I'm sure it wont be too ridiculous." Daxon said staying cool and collected while in reality he was terrified on the inside.

Natrix paused for a moment and Daxon's heart sank, he was sure he had just ruined his chances at getting a ride. He was about ready to just leave when he saw the man across from him reaching his hand across the table. Daxon stared for a moment before reaching to shake it. He stopped short when he heard yelling.

"What are you doing?!" The big, dark one they called Kaaja was standing, his tunic drenched in alcohol. He stared accusingly at a much smaller man, taller than Daxon but had the muscles of a women. He was an off-worlder, Daxon could tell. He wore a strange assortment of clothes, wearing a tight, green top and tight, black trousers.

The small off-worlder was trembling. "I-I didn't mean to...?" Next thing he knew he was flying into the table behind him, spilling even more drinks.

"You're gonna pay now." Kaaja reached down for the terrified man and found a face full of foot as the man kicked him. He scrambled to a standing position and attempted to retreat.

Kaaja was mad. _Mad_. He was trembling with fury as he pursued the off-worlder until they met a wall. Realizing the man had nowhere to go Daxon was sure he soiled his trousers. Kaaja grinned. A sick kind of grin, and reached into his pocket and revealed a jagged, well used, ElectroKnife. Daxon could see the sparks as the shot off from the knife in various directions, showing its capabilities.

What happened next surprised Dax. Kaaja felt a hand on his shoulder, roughly pulling him back. He spun to see Natrix Solo behind the hand.

"C'mon Kaaja, he's an off-worlder..." Natrix was stopped suddenly as he was struck in the jaw by Kaaja's massive fist. Natrix flew past two tables before landing between two men, shattering their table.

Cani screamed and ran toward Natrix's limp body but Daxon grabbed her and held her in the booth. "Let me go!"

"There's nothing you can do, look."

The two watched as Natrix pulled himself together standing up barely able to keep his balance. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his cheek and laughed a bit. Kaaja moved toward him.

"You've been a pain since I took over Solo." Kaaja said moving toward Natrix. "The only thing good about you is your sister!" He was now right on top of Natrix. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this."

Natrix chuckled. "Ditto."

Natrix buried his shoulder into Kaaja's massive torso, defying the belief of every onlooker in that bar. He wraped his arms around Kaaja and drove him _back_. Kaaja howled. Mainly in disbelief but enough for people to have faith in Natrix. Just enough to start cheering.

The man who had first been assaulted by Kaaja sneaked across the room, through the cheering crowd, and sat down at a booth. To his surprise the booth was filled with Cani and Daxon. The man started to stand up but was quickly pulled back into the booth by Daxon.

"It's not safe." Daxon said, not truly caring about the man's safety. "Stay here." The man looked confused but Daxon looked as reassuring as he could and the man stayed. You see, Daxon was not interested in his safety, no, he was interested in where the man was from. He felt some kind of pull toward the cowardly off-worlder and was curious as to his origins.

"I'm Daxon." He said. He looked over at Cani but she was busy watching the two men fight for their lives. "That's Cani, and you are?"

"Aaron." The man said trying to get a hold of himself.

"Your not from around here, are you?"

"I'm a scholar." Aaron said, trying not to look at the fight. "From Gargantooine. I wanted to see how life is lived on the outer rim. It seems, dangerous."

"Yeah." Daxon said looking at the ground. "I'm not familiar with Gargantooine, but I feel like I've heard of it before."

Just then a sense awoke Daxon and he looked on into the fight. Kaaja had flipped Natrix over onto the ground, the ElectroKnife nowhere to be seen. Both men were bloody and beaten. Daxon saw the look of defeat in Natrix's eyes as Kaaja raised his fist for the finishing blow. A sense overtook Daxon and before he knew it he was right behind Kaaja just as he was lowering his fist. It never reached Natrix's head.

In a flash Daxon had pulled out his blaster and fired a single shot, going through Kaaja's chest, killing him instantly. Kaaja's body stood upright for a moment, before crashing down on Natrix. Luckily, Natrix rolled out of the crash zone in time. Daxon stared at his hands in disbelief. _How had I..._ He heard a scream from behind him. he shot another shot, killing the thug that was reaching for Cani. He rushed to her and checked if he was okay.

The sense alerted him and he realized the thugs that had been hanging with Kaaja where moving in on Daxon, Cani, Aaron, and Natrix. Instinctively Daxon grabbed Cani and made a bolt for the door. He looked back and shouted for Aaron who scrambled after them, Natrix, too, ran for the door.

Daxon's heart was pounding as the severity of their situation dawned on him. He looked back one last time on the thugs in hot pursuit and ran into the sunlight. A grin on his face.

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**Okay, SORRY! I've been busy! Don't forget to leave a review!**


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